Together: The Greatest Gift of the Homeschool Life

Together. If I had to choose one word to describe the life we get to live because of our call to home education, that’s it. With the breakneck pace that so many families choose today, that’s not something to take for granted. Because of our homeschool life, together happens by default.

I’ve shared several gifts of homeschooling before, but the opportunity to do life together is perhaps the greatest of all of them. Sure, there are plenty of educational perks and conveniences, but our family culture centers around the togetherness that homeschooling offers.

Maybe that’s why together is the first word that comes to mind when I think about our homeschool. Perhaps that’s why it’s more than an educational choice.

Just maybe it all comes down to knowing that we can only give our kids the best of parts of us if we’re more than four people living under the same roof. We have to be together to make the most of these moments we’ve been given.

Together: The Greatest Gift
of the Homeschool Life

I’m a believer in families being together. Unfortunately, togetherness isn’t the cultural norm these days. But, like I often tell my kids, it’s usually better to not be normal. If normal means I have to love my husband and kids from a phone and spend quality time with them on the weekends only, I’m not interesting in a normal life.

Instead, I choose abnormal. I choose a life lived together and with intention. That’s why I’m overwhelmingly grateful for the time we have together because of the homeschool life.

Homeschool Life: Learning Together

Homeschooling is a culture of togetherness that affords us opportunities to teach, explore, and learn together. That’s why you’ve probably heard me say time and time again that it’s okay if you’re not an expert on every subject or any subject, for that matter. You don’t have to be. If you can learn, you can model learning to your kids.

My tagline for this site is learning together from the heart of the home. Friend, this learning together is homeschool life at its realest, messiest, and most beautiful because, shockingly enough, homeschooling isn’t about teaching your own kids. It’s about learning.

Don’t get me wrong. The teaching happens, but I learn more than I teach. While my kids are learning, I’m learning things that weren’t included in my public school education. Even more, I’m learning to stretch myself in ways I never dreamed.

As a family we’re learning together to embrace rhythms of work, play, and rest. And this learning never stops, but in the best of ways. It’s not tedious or demanding. It’s who we are and what we do.

I’ll never criticize or judge anyone who chooses not to homeschool, but learning together in the day-to-day messy, mundane moments can’t be duplicated in any other educational choice. This gift of togetherness is exclusive to the homeschool life and it’s one I cherish.

The Heart of the Home

You can be together with your family while you’re driving down the road or in a restaurant. You can even be together while watching a sporting event or movie, but togetherness at its core happens around the table.

That’s why we choose this homeschool life. It’s all about what happens at the table. It’s the extra time we have at the heart of our home. It’s extra time to pull up a chair, learn together, create together, laugh together, break bread together, and grow together.

At the table, we’re growing into who our Creator has called us to be and we’re growing into it together. That’s what this homeschool life all comes down to for us: it’s the time we have together around the table.

What word would you use to describe your homeschool? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

7 thoughts on “Together: The Greatest Gift of the Homeschool Life”

Yes, I agree! The gift of togetherness is a homeschool blessing, for sure. As an only child, I love seeing the interaction between my daughters now and I know they wouldn’t have quite the same close-knit sister relationship if they were separated by school all day. I also agree that I’ve learned (and am learning) so much through homeschooling! It really is an adventure that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Great post!

This is beautiful, Emily! I love the learning together aspect of homeschooling as well. When I imagine someone else teaching my children how to read, or sharing an artist’s work with them, a heavy weight fills my chest. It isn’t a control issue- it’s the thought of missing out on those beautiful moments when the seed of an idea takes root.